Professional career

Chow began as a temporary actor for the television. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there. Chow graduated from TVB's acting classes in 1982. Chow began to find some success with the children's programme 430 Space Shuttle. In 1987, Chow entered into the movie industry through the film Final Justice, which won him the Taiwan Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Chow shot to stardom in 1989's The Final Combat. 1990's All for the Winner made him one of the most sought-after stars in Hong Kong. 1991's Fight Back to School became Hong Kong's top-grossing film of all time .

In 1994 Chow began directing films, starting with From Beijing with Love, which he co-directed with Lee Lik-Chi. In the later half of the 1990s, China began to warm to Stephen Chow movies. His film duology A Chinese Odyssey made him (and remains) most iconic star and Stephen Chow Cultural in China.

In 2001 his film Shaolin Soccer grossed over US$50 million all over the world. Chow won Best Director and Best Actor at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards, and the film went on to garner additional awards including a Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Bauhinia Award for Best Picture and Best Director. It was his first international hit and established his reputation in the Western world.

In 2004 his film Kung Fu Hustle grossed over US$106 million all over the world. Chow won Best Director at the Taiwan Golden Horse Awards and Best Picture of Imagine Film Festival and 20 international awards.

Chow's film CJ7 began filming in July 2006 in the eastern Chinese port of Ningbo. In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7, a play on China's successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 and Shenzhou 6. In 2013, Chow directed the film Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, a loose adaptation of the novel of the same name. The film was a box office success, becoming the highest-grossing film ever in Chinese language film.

In 2016, Stephen Chow released a new film titled The Mermaid. It was released in China on February 8, 2016. Upon release, it broke numerous box office records such as the biggest opening day and the biggest single day gross through its seventh day of release and having the biggest opening week of all time in China. On February 19 it became the highest-grossing film of all time in China. The Mermaid released in Vietnam on February 10, 2016. On March 14 it became the 3rd highest-grossing film of all time in Vietnam. On March 31 it became the 45th All Time Highest Grossing Movies International.

Filmography

Year	English Title	Chinese title	Role	Award & Nomination
1982	Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (TV series)	天龍八部	Actor
1982	The Legend of Master So (TV series)	蘇乞兒	Actor
1982	The Emissary (TV series)	獵鷹	Actor
1983	The Old Miao Myth (TV series)	老洞	Actor
1983	The Legend of the Condor Heroes (TV series)	射鵰英雄傳	Actor
1988	Final Justice	霹靂先鋒	Actor	Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Performer
1988	Faithfully Yours	最佳女婿	Actor
1988	My Father's Son (1988 film)	鬥氣一族	Actor
1988	He Who Chases After the Wind	捕風漢子	Actor
1988	The Justice of Life (TV series)	他來自江湖	Actor
1988	Dragon Fight	龍在天涯	Actor
1989	The Final Combat (TV series)	蓋世豪俠	Actor
1989	Just Heroes	義膽群英	Actor
1989	Thunder Cops II	流氓差婆	Actor
1990	Love Is Love	望夫成龍	Actor
1990	My Hero	一本漫畫闖天涯	Actor
1990	Lung Fung Restaurant	龍鳳茶樓	Actor
1990	Unmatchable Match, TheThe Unmatchable Match	风雨同路	Actor
1990	Curry and Pepper	咖喱辣椒	Actor
1990	Sleazy Dizzy	小偷阿星	Actor
1990	Look Out, Officer!	師兄撞鬼	Actor
1990	All for the Winner	賭聖	Actor	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
1990	When Fortune Smiles	無敵幸運星	Actor
1990	Triad Story	江湖最後一個大佬	Actor
1990	Legend of the Dragon	龍的傳人	Actor
1991	God of Gamblers II	賭俠	Actor
1991	Top Bet, TheThe Top Bet	賭霸	Actor
1991	Fist of Fury 1991	新精武門1991	Actor
1991	Fight Back to School	逃學威龍	Actor	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
1991	God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai	賭俠2之上海灘賭聖	Actor
1991	Magnificent Scoundrels, TheThe Magnificent Scoundrels	情聖	Actor
1991	Banquet, TheThe Banquet	豪門夜宴	Actor
1991	Crazy Safari	非洲和尚	Narrator
1991	Tricky Brains	整蠱專家	Actor
1992	Fist of Fury 1991 II	漫畫威龍	Actor
1992	All's Well, Ends Well	家有囍事	Actor
1992	Fight Back to School II	逃學威龍2	Actor
1992	Justice, My Foot!	審死官	Actor	Asia Pacific Film Festival for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Actor Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
1992	Royal Tramp	鹿鼎記	Actor
1992	Royal Tramp II	鹿鼎記2神龍教	Actor
1992	King of Beggars	武狀元蘇乞兒	Actor
1992	The Thief of Time	群星會	Actor
1993	Fight Back to School III	逃學威龍3之龍過雞年	Actor
1993	Flirting Scholar	唐伯虎點秋香	Director, Actor
1993	Mad Monk, TheThe Mad Monk	濟公	Actor
1994	Love on Delivery	破壞之王	Director, Actor
1994	Hail the Judge	九品芝麻官	Actor
1994	From Beijing with Love	國產凌 凌漆	Director, Screenwriter, Actor	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
1995	A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box	西遊記第壹佰零壹回之月光寶盒	Actor
1995	A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella	西遊記大結局之仙履奇緣	Actor	Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor
1995	Out of the Dark	回魂夜	Actor
1995	Sixty Million Dollar Man	百變星君	Actor
1996	Forbidden City Cop	大內密探零零發	Director, Screenwriter, Actor
1996	God of Cookery, TheThe God of Cookery	食神	Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor
1997	All's Well, Ends Well 1997	97家有囍事	Actor
1997	Lawyer Lawyer	算死草	Actor
1998	Lucky Guy, TheThe Lucky Guy	行運一條龍	Actor
1999	Gorgeous	玻璃樽	Actor
1999	Tricky Master, TheThe Tricky Master	千王之王2000	Actor
1999	King of Comedy	喜劇之王	Director, Screenwriter, Actor
2001	Shaolin Soccer	少林足球	Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor	Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Language Film Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Hong Kong Film Award for Best New Director Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay
2004	Kung Fu Hustle	功夫	Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor, Composer	Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival for Silver Scream Award Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Language Film Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film Golden Horse Award for Best Director Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—Hundred Flowers Award for Best Film Nominated—Hundred Flowers Award for Best Director Nominated—Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actor Nominated—Hundred Flowers Award for Best Film Nominated—MTV Movie Awards for Best Fight Nominated—Online Film Critics Society for Best Foreign Language Film Nominated—Satellite Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Nominated—Southeastern Film Critics Association for Best Foreign Language Film
2008	CJ7	長江七號	Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Actor	Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival for Audience Award Chunyan Awards for Best Actor Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film Nominated—Hong Kong Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Hundred Flowers Award for Best Director
2008	Shaolin Girl	少林少女	Producer
2009	Dragonball Evolution	七龍珠	Producer
2009	Jump	跳出去	Producer, Screenwriter (original story)
2010	CJ7: The Cartoon	長江7號愛地球	Producer, Screenwriter (characters)
2013	Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons	西遊·降魔篇	Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Action Choreography	Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Golden Horse Award for Best Action Choreography
2016	The Mermaid	美人魚	Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Composer
2017	Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 2	西遊伏妖篇	Producer

Awards

Awards won
Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival 2005: Silver Scream Award for Kung Fu Hustle
Asia Pacific Film Festival 1992: Best Actor for Justice, My Foot
Blue Ribbon Awards 2002: Best Foreign Language Film for Shaolin Soccer
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Golden Bauhinia Awards 2002: Best Director for Shaolin Soccer
Golden Horse Awards 1988: Best Supporting Actor for Final Justice 2005: Best Picture for Kung Fu Hustle 2005: Best Director for Kung Fu Hustle
Hong Kong Film Awards 2002: Best Picture for Shaolin Soccer 2002: Best Director for Shaolin Soccer 2002: Best Actor for Shaolin Soccer 2002: Best New Director for Shaolin Soccer 2005: Best Picture for Kung Fu Hustle
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards 1995: Best Actor for A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Utah Film Critics Association Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2005: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle
BAFTA Awards 2006: nomination: Best Film not in the English Language for Kung Fu Hustle
Golden Globe Award 2006: nomination: Best Foreign Language Film for Kung Fu Hustle

Influence

Chow often casts relatively new young actresses to play opposite him, especially as romantic leads, and many of these actresses have gone on to have successful film or music careers of their own. These actresses are collectively called the "Sing girls", and include Karen Mok, Sharla Cheung, Athena Chu, Michelle Reis, Christy Chung, Gigi Leung, Cecilia Cheung, Huang Shengyi, Zhang Yuqi and Xu Jiao.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]